I need your opinions! I've been getting into photography for the past year and I just need some feedback on my photos, I found a site where I posted up some of them and after looking at everyone elses, theirs are so much better than mine. I just need some advice, tips, etc. You know, now that I think of it, I'm more of a journalistic photographer (I think that's what they're called).
They all look a bit plain!? Surreal House is ok, the Cheerio pic is a bit strange.. how about taking pics of landscapes not of single objects?
Try to avoid centering your subject. Try to avoid vertical and horizontal lines, which create a really "static" image, unless this is the desired effect. A simple tip to remember is to "unframe" lightly; give your camera something like a 5-10° angle, it will "break" most of the verts/horiz that our modern city life is filled with.
Also read on the golden rule and its application in photography. Simpler, the "thirds" rule: just imagine your frame divided in three equal parts, horizontally and vertically. These lines are the "strong" lines of your picture, and where they cross are the "strongest" points of the picture. Try to use that when framing your subject.
Also think about contrasts to put your subject in value; light contrast, color contrast, shape contrast, focus contrast, semantic contrast, whatever.
Use the lines and shapes of your picture (by thinking 2 dimensionally, like it's flat) to direct your viewer's reading of the picture.
And finally: put emotion and thought in your images. You have to say something to make a great picture. Don't hesitate to take the same picture over and over again until you get it right (it's harder to do on live subjects, so try to perfect this on landscapes and stuff first maybe?)
Oh, and one last thing: always carry your camera. It's awful to have the sight of the year just to realize you don't have it to take a pic. And shoot whenever you feel like, it's by practicing that you'll get better.